Department of Homeland Security
Training for U.S.-Educated Noncitizens Withstands Another Restrictionist Attack
Some foreign students complete their stay in the United States by gaining professional experience in their field of study. Immigration restrictionists want to end that opportunity. For the second time, a court has ruled against a group that has repeatedly tried to stop foreign students in F-1 status from… Read More
Tracking the Trump Immigration Agenda and What Comes Next
What can the first 100 days of the Trump administration tell us about how immigration will be handled in the next 100 days and beyond? Since his inauguration, President Trump has prioritized making splashy announcements on a range of issues to show his supporters that he can make good on… Read More
Former Leader of Anti-Immigrant Group Now Leads USCIS Oversight Office
The Trump administration continues to stack its deck with key players in the anti-immigrant movement, most recently naming Julie Kirchner as the new Ombudsman for the Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) department. Kirchner, the former executive director of one of the nation’s most prominent anti-immigrant groups, will be tasked… Read More
Spending Deal Expands Parts of Immigration Enforcement, but Not the Wall or Immigration Agents
Congress reached an agreement this week to fund the government through the rest of the Fiscal Year which ends on September 30, 2017. This agreement does not fund many of President Trump's immigration priorities like the border wall. However, it does provide additional funding for immigration detention and border security measures. Read More
DHS Launches Controversial Immigration Victims Office
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a new office for Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) on April 26, declaring that its “singular mission is to support victims of crime through access to information and resources.” Originally proposed in the Trump administration’s interior enforcement executive order, the office… Read More
Trump Administration to Announce H-1B Visa Changes
Several media outlets have reported that on Tuesday, April 18, President Trump will sign an executive order mandating that the immigration agencies undertake a review of the H-1B visas classification and suggesting that they must take steps to overhaul the process for allocating the limited number available… Read More
Immigration Arrests Increase While Weapon and Drug Arrests Decline, Federal Data Shows
Attorney General Jeff Sessions decried drug dealers and armed cartels at the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, but rather than announcing a crackdown on those elements, he instead declared war on undocumented immigrants and those who defend them. Sessions announced that he was instructing U.S. attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration… Read More
Sessions Reveals Plan to Ramp up Prosecutions of Low Level Immigration Offenses
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a shift in policy for the Department of Justice on Tuesday, directing U.S. attorneys to prioritize criminal immigration enforcement and drastically expand federal court prosecutions of immigration violators across the nation. Operation Streamline and other border enforcement programs—where some border crossers are referred by… Read More
Congress Goes to Recess with No Action on Immigration
President Trump’s campaign promise to ramp up immigration enforcement and build a beautiful wall along the southern border have found little support on Capitol Hill. As Congress leaves for spring recess it’s unclear which of the president’s immigration promises they are willing to help him fulfill. Permanent changes to… Read More
Congress Grills Homeland Security Secretary Kelly in Contentious Oversight Hearing
The Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee this week. During the hearing Secretary Kelly attempted to clarify some of DHS’s controversial positions as they relate to immigration enforcement, extreme vetting, family separation, and the building of a border… Read More
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